Government finances are improving over the short term WASHINGTON (AP) — The annual federal budget deficit is sinking out of $1 trillion-plus nosebleed territory where it has hovered for the past four years. Government borrowing has dropped to roughly 25 cents for every dollar it spends, down from over 40 cents-per-dollar spent a few years ago. Tax receipts are rising and spending is moderating. For once, the government’s financial shape is actually improving and will get better still over the nex...

Border security expo begins amid fed spending cuts PHOENIX (AP) — Paul Roselle is hoping to sell the U.S. Border Patrol on his company’s high-tech mobile surveillance system mounted inside a nondescript white truck to better monitor movement of criminals and illegal crossers who are constantly changing their routes to avoid detection. The manager at 4D Security Solutions is at a border security expo in Phoenix this week that in normal years would have been a golden opportunity to profit from a...

Man convicted in deadly Craigslist plot in Ohio AKRON, Ohio (AP) — A self-styled street preacher accused of teaming up with a high school student in a deadly plot to lure men with Craigslist job offers and then rob them was found guilty Tuesday of aggravated murder and could face the death penalty. A jury in Akron returned the verdict in the case against Richard Beasley, who was charged with killing two men from Ohio and one from Norfolk, Va. A man from South Carolina was shot but survived ...

Feds bust up $100M NC crop insurance fraud ring RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal investigators have unraveled a massive scheme among dozens of insurance agents, claims adjusters, brokers and farmers in eastern North Carolina to steal at least $100 million from the government-backed program that insures crops. Authorities say the ongoing investigation is already the largest such ring uncovered in the country. Forty-one defendants have either pleaded guilty or reached plea agreements after profit...

Survivors of Ohio crash say teen was driving crazy Sitting in the front passenger seat of a speeding SUV with six friends crammed behind him, Brian Henry pleaded for the 19-year-old woman behind the wheel to slow down. But she only sped up when the SUV that was later reported to be stolen rounded what’s known as “Dead Man’s Curve” just blocks from his home, Henry told investigators in the northeast Ohio city of Warren. The sport-utility vehicle smacked a guardrail and rolled, landing upside do...

New York cop convicted in cannibalism plot NEW YORK (AP) — Police Officer Gilberto Valle’s lawyers said he was just spinning sick and twisted fantasies for his own pleasure when he chatted online about abducting, roasting and eating women. A jury, though, decided he was deadly serious. Valle, 28, was convicted Tuesday of conspiracy in a macabre case that opened a window on a shocking Internet world of cannibalism fetishists. He could get life in prison at sentencing June 19 but is like...

Hard to find good info on drug safety in pregnancy WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly every woman takes a medication at some point during pregnancy. Yet there’s disturbingly little easy-to-understand information about which drugs pose a risk to her baby, and what to do about it. Need some pain relief? In the fine print is the warning that painkillers like Advil aren’t for the third trimester. Left unsaid is whether to worry if you took them earlier. An awful cold? Don’t panic if you used decongestant pi...

LA archdiocese settles 4 sex abuse cases for $10M The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will pay nearly $10 million to settle four cases alleging abuse by a now-defrocked priest who told Cardinal Roger Mahony nearly 30 years ago he had molested children, attorneys confirmed on Tuesday. The cases involving ex-priest Michael Baker span 26 years from 1974 to 2000. Two were set for trial next month. A judge had said attorneys for the plaintiffs could pursue punitive damages at trial. The ...

New center offers help for dogs consumed by fear LOS ANGELES (AP) — People want their dog to be a friend, not afraid. But sometimes, fear grips dogs so tightly they shake, cower, bite, growl or pee. It can be constant, painful and hard to overcome. Such dread can consume a dog when it’s freed from a cage at a puppy mill or hoarder’s home because that’s the only life the dog has ever known. Until now, it was up to animal shelters to ease the fears, knowing if they didn’t, euthanasia was the l...

4 arrested for California motorcycle freeway stunt WEST COVINA, Calif. (AP) — Four men — including the would-be groom — have been arrested for a marriage proposal stunt in which hundreds of motorcycles blocked a Southern California freeway, authorities said. The prospective groom and three of his friends were all booked for investigation of misdemeanor public nuisance and participating in an unlawful assembly. The 24-year-old groom, Hector Martinez of Covina, also was booked for investigation ...

White promises “unrelenting” enforcement at SEC WASHINGTON (AP) — Mary Jo White vowed Tuesday to make “bold and unrelenting” enforcement of Wall Street a high priority if she is confirmed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The former federal prosecutor told a Senate panel that investors need to know the playing field is level and that wrongdoers will be “aggressively and successfully” pursued. White also pledged to avoid potential conflicts of interest from her work over th...

Google pays $7M fine to settle Wi-Fi privacy case SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google will pay a $7 million fine to settle a multistate investigation into a snoopy software program that enabled the Internet search leader to intercept emails, passwords and other sensitive information sent several years ago over unprotected wireless networks in neighborhoods across the world. The agreement announced Tuesday covers 38 states and the District of Columbia, part of the area where households and local merch...

Mars rover shows planet could have supported lifeLOS ANGELES (AP) — Drilling into a rock near its landing site, the Curiosity rover has answered a key question about Mars: The red planet long ago harbored some of the ingredients needed for primitive life to thrive. Topping the list is evidence of water and basic elements that teeny organisms could feed on, scientists said Tuesday. "We have found a habitable environment that is so benign and supportive of life that probably if this water was ...

10 Things to Know for Tuesday, March 12, 2013Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Tuesday: 1. CONCLAVE TO BEGIN WITHOUT FRONTRUNNER Cardinals will vote Tuesday for a new pope, but there's no sense that a single man has what it takes. 2. WHAT A FACEBOOK 'LIKE' REVEALS Researchers say it can indicate whether you're gay, how you vote and even if you have a high IQ. 3. WHY NYC CAN STILL SUPERSIZE ITS SODA A judge struck down a ban o...

10 Things to Know for Monday, March 11, 2013Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today: 1. CARDINALS MEETING ON EVE OF CONCLAVE Taking all precautions, police deploy snipers and sniffer dogs around the Vatican. 2. IN GANG RAPE CASE, A STARTLING TURN The chief suspect hangs himself in his cell, using his own clothes, police in New Delhi say. 3. KOREAN TENSIONS TICK UP South Korea and the U.S. begin their annual war games - as No...

Spring forwardWASHINGTON (AP) — Spring must be around the corner. It’s time to set the clocks forward for daylight saving time. At 2 a.m. local time Sunday, daylight saving time arrives with the promise of many months ahead with an extra hour of evening light. You lose an hour of sleep, but make sure to turn the clock ahead — spring forward — before heading to bed Saturday night to avoid the panic of a late rise. It’s also a good time to put new batteries i...

Outpouring follows death of Sportsman Channel host The Sportsman Channel says it’s deeply saddened by the shooting death in northwestern Montana of one of its TV hosts who traveled the world in search of big game and shared his adventures on his program “A Rifleman’s Journal.” The company in a statement early Saturday said it will miss Gregory G. Rodriguez’s “thoughtfulness, candor and dedication to encourage a safe and enjoyable outdoor experience for all.” Police said Rodriguez, 43, of Sugar...

Dump truck crash closes I-90 in Ohio CLEVELAND (AP) — A heavily trafficked Ohio interstate is shut down until further notice after a dump truck traveling with its bed raised slammed into a pedestrian bridge. Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Ziaja said no one hurt when the truck hit the bridge spanning Interstate 90 around 6 a.m. Saturday. The accident caused part of the truck’s bed to flip over while its cab continued on a short distance. Part of the walkway was r...

Politicians look for credit in a rising economy WASHINGTON (AP) — Increased hiring, lower unemployment, stock market on the rise. Who gets the credit? It’s a hotly debated point in Washington, where political scorekeeping amounts to who gets blame and who gets praise. Following Friday’s strong jobs report — 236,000 new jobs and unemployment dropping to a four-year low of 7.7 percent — partisans hurriedly staked out turf. “Woot woot!” tweeted former White House economic adviser Austan Goolsb...

Preservation of Venezuelan leader’s body not easy No one lives forever — nor do they last forever. At least not without a lot of tuneups. As much as it may seem like the bodies of famous world leaders such as Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Mao Zedong have been preserved for all eternity, their enduring physical presence is simply an illusion aided by science. Only the Venezuelan officials who have promised to preserve Hugo Chavez and display his body “for eternity” inside a glass tomb know exactly...